Classified Information and State Secrets

News about Classified Information and State Secrets, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 26, 2015

Classified document reveals provision in draft of 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal would allow foreign corporations to sue United States government for actions that hurt their business and undermine investment 'expectations'; document is likely to spur criticism of trade deal on both sides of political spectrum. MORE

Mar. 24, 2015

Justice Dept wins dismissal of defamation lawsuit by shipping magnate Victor Restis against anti-Iran advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran after claiming case could imperil national security by revealing state secrets. MORE

Mar. 24, 2015

Kenneth W Ford, physicist who helped design atom bomb in 1950s, has refused to cut what government says are sensitive details from his book Building the H Bomb: A Personal History; Ford points out that many of book's descriptions have been divulged elsewhere, resulting in gray area of information that is sensitive but not technically classified. MORE

Mar. 18, 2015

State Dept says it has no record that Hillary Rodham Clinton, or two secretaries of state before her, signed form stating that they had no government records in their possession when they left office. MORE

Mar. 17, 2015

Editorial contrasts remarkably lenient deal offered by federal prosecutors to former Gen David Petraeus, who leaked classified information to biographer and lover Paula Broadwell, with harsh prosecution of lower-ranking officials for same crime; notes Petraeus will likely enjoy highly paid positions and degree of influence in future that John C Kiriakou and Stephen J Kim, also prosecuted for leaking classified information, will not. MORE

Mar. 16, 2015

Lawyer for arms expert and former State Dept contractor Stephen J Kim writes letter to Justice Dept criticizing plea deal given to retired Gen David H Petraeus, who will not serve prison time even though he gave military secrets to mistress; says deal shows double standard on prosecution of leaked classified information, as Kim is serving 13-month sentence for disclosing such information to Fox News. MORE

Mar. 12, 2015

Political Memo; some former government officials are skeptical about Hillary Rodham Clinton's claims she did not email at least some classified material while secretary of state, saying that federal government has routinely overclassified information for years. MORE

Mar. 4, 2015

Retired Gen David H Petraeus reaches plea deal with Justice Dept, pleading guilty to one count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material in connection with having shared materials with onetime mistress Paula Broadwell; misdemeanor charge brings scandalous episode to close and allows Petraeus to return focus to future plans. MORE

Mar. 4, 2015

Op-Ed article by history Profs Matthew Connelly and Richard H Immerman argues that revelation about Hillary Rodham Clinton's use of personal email account for State Dept business points to larger problem of archiving astounding volume of email produced by government; warns that both parties have devoted more money and effort to protecting state secrets than preserving historical record; calls for reform that will ensure preservation of both classified and unclassified documents. MORE

Feb. 10, 2015

Former CIA officer John C Kiriakou is released from prison to home confinement after serving almost two years for leaking classified information to a reporter. MORE

Feb. 3, 2015

American military command in Afghanistan partially backtracks on decision to classify information about Afghan Army and police, which had long been available to public; command insists information could pose security risk, but opts to only classify readiness assessments instead of larger range of more basic data about forces. MORE

Jan. 29, 2015

Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni, former scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, is sentenced to five years in prison for passing secret nuclear weapons data to a person he believed to be a Venezuelan government official. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

Former Central Intelligence Agency officer Jeffrey A Sterling is convicted of espionage; was charged with leaking information concerning an operation to disrupt Iran's nuclear program to New York Times reporter James Risen, who later revealed information in book; conviction amounts to significant victory for the Obama administration, crowning its crackdown on unauthorized leaks. MORE

Jan. 20, 2015

Newly disclosed classified document shows that British intelligence services intercepted email messages to journalists for at least dozen international media organizations at end of 2008, as well as emails sent to United Nations officials and thousands of other people; document is part of trove leaked by Edward J Snowden. MORE

Jan. 16, 2015

Former National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice testifies at leak trial of Jeffrey Sterling, former CIA officer; describes how White House successfully persuaded New York Times editors not to publish article on botched CIA plans to disrupt Iran's nuclear program; information was ultimately released in book State of War by reporter James Risen. MORE

Jan. 14, 2015

Justice Dept moves ahead with prosecution against Jeffrey A Sterling, former Central Intelligence Agency official charged with revealing details of covert operation in Iran that were published in 2006 book State of War by New York Times reporter James Risen. MORE

Jan. 10, 2015

Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Dept recommend bringing felony charges against retired Gen David H Petraeus for providing classified information to former mistress Paula Broadwell while he was CIA director; Petraeus denies allegations and shows no interest in plea deal. MORE

Jan. 6, 2015

New York Times reporter James Risen takes witness stand in federal trial against former CIA officer Jeffrey A Sterling, following seven years of legal resistance; refuses to answer any questions that could help Justice Department identify confidential source he used in book on botched CIA operation, source officials believe was Sterling himself; attempt to force Sterling to disclose his sources, including two subpoenas, has come to symbolize Obama administration's crackdown on government leaks. MORE

Dec. 17, 2014

New York Times reporter James Risen is to be subpoenaed to answer questions before trial of Jeffrey Sterling, CIA officer accused of leaking classified information; there is confusion as to what Risen will be asked to reveal but prosecutors say they will not ask him if Sterling was his anonymous source for his 2006 book State of War. MORE

Dec. 13, 2014

United States Atty Preet Bharara recommends that Atty Gen Eric H Holder Jr approve subpoena for CBS reporter Richard Bonin to testify at terrorism trial over bombings by Al Qaeda in 1998; Holder already faces deadline over whether to force New York Times reporter James Risen to testify in leak trial of former Central Intelligence Agency officer. MORE

Dec. 11, 2014

Federal District Court Judge Leonie M Brinkema in Alexandria, Va, gives Obama administration and Justice Department deadline for deciding whether to force New York Times reporter James Risen to testify at trial of whistle-blower Jeffrey Sterling; Risen has been battling government subpoenas to reveal his confidential sources about bungled Central Intelligence Agency operation since 2008. MORE

Dec. 10, 2014

Senate Intelligence Committee report says CIA leaked classified information to reporters to shape perception that its detention and interrogation program was efficacious method to stop terrorism; cites government tensions over CIA's interactions with media. MORE

Nov. 21, 2014

American diplomatic circles are stunned by revelation of rare, secret espionage investigation of prominent former State Dept diplomat Robin L Raphel; investigation is an unexpected turn in a lengthy and distinguished career; Raphel, a leading expert on Pakistan, was stripped of all security clearances and access to State Department building after Federal Bureau of Investigation found classified information in her home. MORE

Nov. 8, 2014

Federal Bureau of Investigation counterintelligence agents are investigating veteran American diplomat Robin L Raphel on suspicion that she took classified information home from the State Dept; Raphel is a retired ambassador and expert on Pakistan, who until recently was an adviser to State Dept. MORE

Oct. 27, 2014

Newly disclosed records and interviews reveal that CIA and other United States agencies employed at least a thousand Nazis as Cold War spies and informants; law enforcement and intelligence leaders felt that ex-Nazis' intelligence value against Russians outweighed so-called 'moral lapses' in their service to Third Reich; records also show that government worked to conceal its ties to ex-Nazis working in America as recently as 1990s. MORE

Oct. 27, 2014

Twelve Nobel Peace Prize winners urge fellow laureate Pres Obama to make full disclosure to the American people concerning use of torture by United States; demand release of long-delayed Senate report about the CIA's torture of terrorism suspects after the attacks of Sept 11, 2001. MORE

Oct. 12, 2014

Hundreds of declassified documents suggest that J Robert Oppenheimer, atomic physicist who was accused of being Soviet spy, was not disloyal. MORE

Sep. 15, 2014

Attorney Gen Eric H Holder Jr, during his first year in office, put new limits on when government can dismiss lawsuits in name of protecting national security; Holder has now broad authority to do just that, intervening in defamation lawsuit against United Against Nuclear Iran, advocacy group pushing for tough sanctions against Tehran; government says case should be dropped because opening files will jeopardize national security. MORE

Aug. 8, 2014

Russia grants Edward J Snowden three-year residence permit; former National Security Agency contractor leaked classified government documents and then fled to country. MORE

Aug. 6, 2014

Secret documents leaked to online magazine The Intercept show that about 20,800 United States citizens and permanent residents are included in federal government database of people suspected of having links to terrorism, of whom about 5,000 have been placed on one or more watch lists. MORE

Aug. 6, 2014

Senator Dianne Feinstein pledges to fight for more of Senate Intelligence Committee's report on Central Intelligence Agency's detention program to be declassified, saying the redactions obscure its conclusions. MORE

Jul. 26, 2014

Director of National Intelligence James R Clapper Jr assures Congress that its members and legislative staff leaders with security clearances will not have their computer use monitored as part of agency's stepped-up efforts to prevent unauthorized disclosures of classified information. MORE

Jul. 21, 2014

Guardian newspaper publishes interview with former National Security Agency contractor Edward J Snowden, who says oversight of surveillance programs are so weak that members of United States military working at spy agency sometimes shared sexually explicit photos they intercepted; also says British government often pioneered most invasive surveillance programs because its intelligence services operate with fewer restrictions. MORE

Jul. 12, 2014

Newly disclosed emails reveal that Obama administration knew in advance that British government was planning in July 2013 to force The Guardian to destroy hard drives containing copies of documents leaked by Edward J Snowden; decision had been praised by National Security Agency official Richard H Ledgett Jr. MORE

Jul. 12, 2014

Russia will most likely extend temporary asylum of Edward J Snowden, former National Security Agency contractor who leaked agency documents. MORE

Jun. 30, 2014

Adm Michael S Rogers, newly installed director of National Security Agency, says in interview that while fallout from secret documents leaked by Edward J Snowden has been serious, crisis is ultimately manageable one; describes series of steps agency is taking to ensure large-scale leak cannot occur again, but warns that it is impossible to fully safeguard against intrusion by dedicated insider. MORE

Jun. 28, 2014

Six-year-old case surrounding New York Times journalist James Risen, who refused to reveal confidential sources despite Bush administration subpoena, has reached critical juncture; Justice Department faces difficult choice of whether or not to force Risen's testimony, under threat of prison sentence, now that Supreme Court has refused to hear case; decision will send powerful message about how far Obama administration is willing to go to protect classified information and intelligence interests in the digital age. MORE

Jun. 15, 2014

Op-Ed article by former United States Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning contends that the concerns that motivated her to disclose classified information in 2010 have not been resolved; notes that as Iraq erupts in civil war and American contemplates intervention, it should give new urgency to question of how US military controlled media coverage of its involvement there and in Afghanistan. MORE

Jun. 11, 2014

Information Security Oversight Office director John P Fitzpatrick decides, in apparent expansion of government's secrecy powers, that it is legitimate for Marines to classify photographs showing American forces posing with corpses of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan; move is in direct contrast to Pres Obama's executive order barring use of classification system to cover up illegal or embarrassing conduct; Fitzpatrick contends that dissemination of photos could encourage attacks against troops. MORE

May. 29, 2014

Edward J Snowden, in interview with Brian Williams of NBC News, says that he still considers himself to be an American patriot even after leaking thousands of classified documents; in hourlong interview, Snowden tries to justify his actions and explain why he accepted refuge from Pres Vladimir V Putin of Russia. MORE

May. 17, 2014

Editorial deplores Office of the Director of National Intelligence policy, issued in April, that constrains way that government officials are allowed to comment upon obvious issues stirred by leaked information; holds that policy, which requires officials to submit comments for advanced approval and prevents discussion of news reports based on leaks, is overly secretive. MORE

May. 13, 2014

Glenn Greenwald book No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the US Surveillance State notes documents that reveal Susan E Rice, then American United Nations ambassador, asked National Security Agency in 2010 for intelligence about Security Council members; documents, leaked by former NSA contractor Edward J Snowden, reveal wider net of United States' spying on envoys. MORE

May. 10, 2014

Office of the Director of National Intelligence sends memo to its work force, saying its new policy on pre-publication review of speeches, books and other writings permits current and former employees to refer to news articles as long as the officials do not confirm any classified information; rule alarms some former intelligence officials, who say it raises First Amendment concerns. MORE

May. 9, 2014

New review policy for Office of Director of National Intelligence says agency's current and former employees and contractors may not cite news reports based on unauthorized leaks and disclosures; follows policy that James R Clapper Jr, director of national intelligence, issued earlier that bars officials at all 17 intelligence agencies from speaking without permission to journalists about unclassified information related to intelligence. MORE

May. 5, 2014

Assortment of documents and records compiled by retired Central Intelligence Agency analyst Allen Thomson points to camp north of San Antonio as site of so-called Midwest Depot, where classified weapons stockpile is kept; Thomson argues that history of depot should be scrutinized. MORE

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The State Department said Tuesday that it had no record of Hillary Rodham Clinton, or the two secretaries of state before her, signing a form stating that they had no government records in their possession when they left office.

Thousands of pages of email messages were released on Wednesday in connection with a secret criminal investigation into whether campaigning had been conducted on government time in a county office once led by Scott Walker, now the governor of Wisconsin. These are just a handful.

This document from May 2010, redacted in places, is one of several undisclosed classified documents provided by Edward J. Snowden, the former N.S.A contractor, and shared by The New York Times, The Guardian and ProPublica.